2 Ways to Properly Handle Water-Damaged Hard Drives and Devices
As with any kind of water damages, the best course of action is to contact Steamatic’s team of water-damage restoration professionals. Steamatic’s water recovery services range from document and media recovery to full-on home restoration in the case of major flooding. While you wait for help to arrive, you can follow these tips to help you properly handle any water-damaged devices.
How to save a wet device:
The old trick of dunking your soaking cell phone in rice is a great way to resurrect a water-damaged device. You should pop out the battery and give your phone a rinse if it has been touched by salt water with harmful mineral content. Seal the rice in a bowl or plastic bag, and within a few days your device should be dried and fully functional.
Do not dry your hard-drive!
This may seem counter-intuitive. Of course you want to dry up the water that is ravaging your electronics, right?
Surprisingly, dried water can actually cause more harm than its liquid counterpart. This is partly because water contains mineral contaminants that can badly damage data if they bond with the hard-drive’s platters. While these minerals are still suspended in liquid form, they are easier to clean.
Most IT experts agree that hard drives exposed to salt water can actually benefit from a quick rinse in clean water. Once you have finished this rinse, place your wet hard drive in a paper towel, then seal it in a Ziploc bag that has had as much air as possible removed. This will give electronics repair experts the best chance of recovering your data.
